Becoming Alice
by musicrush93
Summary: Alice is confused even after she settles down with Jasper. Weird things keep happening, and she doesn't know if she can keep it a secret from the people she cares about most. Mild language. AH AxJ
1. Prolouge:Option Three

**A/N: An Alice/ Jasper one shot. Hopefully it will get me back into the writing groove. I have lost it since exams, and then I went to Europe for 5 weeks. Whoo! So yeah. Enjoy!**

SO BORED. There is seriously nothing to do in Forks. If it were up to me, I would build at least three outlet malls. I was lying on top of my bed, upside-down with my feet perched on the pillow, and my head hanging off the bottom, lolling around. I could feel the blood rushing to my brain, and hear it pounding in my ears.

"Ugh!" I grunted as I lifted myself up, and sat Indian style in the middle of the pink bedspread. I took three deep breaths while thinking over my options.

One, I could stay here in my room, and color coordinate my closet. Two, I could call every Forever 21 store in the state to see if they have that new shirt in my size yet. Again. Or three, I could go try and tempt my cat Bubbles to play with me. He could use the exercise. And I could really use the entertainment value.

"Option three it is." I quietly muttered to myself and made my way downstairs to find the animal of my desire. He wasn't in the kitchen windowsill, so maybe he was in the front hall, lying in the sun? Bingo!

"Bubbles!" I baby talked at him. He barley twitched an ear in my direction.

I approached his sleepy form, and knelt down beside him. He really was cute. I remembered picking him out when I was younger because of his markings. He was white, with light gray patches. Most of the patches were somewhat circular, thus the name _Bubbles_. I started to pet and coo at him and he really wasn't appreciating the action as much as a cat should. He just slowly rolled over so I could pet his fat belly too.

" Bubbles COME ON. I'm so bored!! Play with mee!!" I whined.

"Meow."

_Verryy communicative_. I thought.

I leapt up to find one of the cat toys that were usually scattered everywhere, but today of course were no where to be found.

I caught sight of myself in the hallway mirror, and stopped. I really did like this outfit I had on today! Man I am good in the fashion department. I had on a lime green tank, with lace trimming paired with a white cardigan that hung open. With it I had on what I like to call "The butt jeans". Every girl has that one pair of jeans that make her booty look like gold. These were my absolute favourite butt jeans, and I was sad that I had no where to show them off. Not in Forks anyways.

I scanned the room for anything shiny, or feathery that was lying on the ground.

"HA." I saw a cat toy hiding under the couch, and I dove for it.

It was a pink ball with a bell inside, and had purple feathers sticking out of one side. _Not very manly _I thought. I walked back over to where Bubbles was comatose on the floor, and shook the ball in front of his face. Instant reaction. Alice 1, Bubbles 0.

"C'mon Bubbles!! Come and get it!!!!" I said while slowly walking backwards to the end of the hallway, waving the ball so it lightly jingled. He was on all fours now, slowly following the ball in my hands.

Just then, I tripped on the hem of my butt jeans falling backwards slamming into the screen door that flew open on impact, and accidentally threw the cat toy over my shoulder in the act of falling to the floor like an idiot. It happened so fast that if I blinked, I myself would have missed it.

In a very uncharacteristically fast move, Bubbles shot after his toy, out the open door, onto the street.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!!" Bubbles has always been an indoor cat! And there are animals in Forks!! What do I do?! I was internally panicking. WHY did I have to wear the fashionably too long hemline?! I should have known I would trip and let the cat out!

I ran out the door, shoeless and coatless, even in the cold weather. I just had to find him. Poor Bubbles, all alone, in the cold!

"Shit!" I said as I scanned the street and didn't see him anywhere. I chose to walk east first and try my luck at finding him. The rough pavement was hurting my feet as I stumbled along in the middle of the road, peering under cars and in the gardens of the surrounding houses.

"This is so going to ruin my pedi." I huffed, still aimlessly wandering.

"Bubbles?!" I shouted, "Bubbles come back!!" Just as the search was starting to seem like an endless giant fail, I saw him dart under a big grey truck in someone's driveway.

"BUBBLES THANK GOD!" I yelled, and ran over to the truck.

As soon as I got there, I plopped down on the ground and looked under the truck. He was just sitting there, looking all high and mighty, like he didn't just almost get lost.

"Come here baby! Come on.." I cooed at him, he just looked at me. I could tell that he was not willingly going to move.

"Dammit…" I muttered. This was going to take some dirty work, not something a girl like me often does. I lay down and shimmied under the truck, I was just far enough so that I could almost grab him with my arms fully outstretched, and just my butt and legs were sprawled out on the driveway visibly.

"Bubbles come here already! This isn't funny anymore!" I whined. Here I was laying on the ground, getting dirty, cold, and probably looking like a fool, and he had the nerve to just sit there! Fuck!

"Urghhhh!" I gave up and just flopped limp, half under the truck, and half on the driveway. If this was going to be a waiting game- I could wait.

"Excuse me Ma'am? Can I help you?" Said a smooth male voice with a slight southern accent. Nothing too hillbilly, you could just hear a hint of it swimming in his delicious vocals. If he looked as good as he sounded, I was in no way upset that I was probably trespassing or something illegal.

"Uhh, I'm just trying to get my cat.. he ran.. and he.. your truck…" I stuttered, trying to find the right words for the situation.

I heard his footsteps walk around to the other side of the truck, and then I saw from his ankles down, he had on a dark wash boot cut jean, and scuffed up brown leather cowboy boots. Very sexy. I liked this. Hopefully he doesn't turn out to be some 40 year old freak.

He got on his knees and bent so that his face was upside down gazing at me under the truck. He had a honey blonde shag, and a dark scruff fell over his chin, and framed his soft features. His greyish green eyes peered curiously into mine.

"Well Hello," He said with a smile. OMG OMG OMG I was internally squealing! He was so cute!

"Hi..I'm Alice," Was all I could think of to say. How embarrassing was this?! In the back of my mind I was singing the halleluiah chorus for wearing the butt jeans today. He laughed a throaty, husky laugh and smiled even wider, showing straight white teeth. _Go Bubbles_!

"And who is this meddlesome creature?" He pointed at Bubbles.

"Bubbles." I said while smiling sheepishly, Bubbles then meowed and flicked his tail.

"Well, I think I can solve this problem...if you need my help of course," His voice was like melted chocolate. I wondered how he could possibly help me, I was pretty sure that Bubbles was not moving.

"If you have any ideas, you are free to assist me as coincidentally I'm all out." I flirtatiously replied, I batted my eyelashes to achieve the desired affect. He chuckled, and then out of his pocket he pulled a pink ball, with a purple feather sticking out one side. _He was good_. I thought, as he slowly brought the ball down to bubbles and shook it so the bell jingled.

"Here kitty.." He said softly, that southern drawl much to alluring to be used on a cat, as Bubbles walked over to him and let himself be picked up by the sexy stranger. Hell, if he had said _here Alice _I probably would have gone over there too!

"Well, that works!" I muttered while slowly manoeuvring myself out from under the vehicle. He walked over to my side of the truck and stood waiting with Bubbles contentedly in his arms, purring. I made sure that on the way up, I made my butt look good. A girl can try right?

Once I was standing, I looked down at myself I looked pretty scruffy, but not terrible. I realized that I didn't know the sexy strangers name.

"Thanks a lot, that was really nice of you…" I let the ending of my sentence trail off hoping that he would give me his name.

"Jasper, Jasper Whitlock" He said with a heart stopping grin. He was so adorable! I just wanted to pinch his cheeks and kiss him!

"Jasper." I added with a coy smile. "I think you may have had an advantage though, once you pulled out the toy."

"Well it was just sitting on the doorstep, so I thought it could come in handy." He said while I hung on every word. I reached my arms out and he gently placed Bubbles in them. Sure now he was purring.

"I guess I'll see you around Jasper." _Always leave them wanting more_, I thought as I turned on my heel and swung my hips a little on the walk home. I could have sworn I heard a low whistle behind me, but I didn't dare turn around and get caught in those eyes to check.

I walked in the front door, and firmly closed it before I set Bubbles down on the floor, and knelt down beside him.

"Thank you Bubbles!" I squealed out, jumped up and skipped the way to my room. Forks didn't seem so boring now!

**A/N: Cute right? I thought so : ) I never really thought I would write Alice and Jasper but I just had a little feeling that this scene was right for them! Anyways review if you want to! **


	2. Electric Blue Leggings

**A/N: I want to make it known that I am no pro, and appreciate whatever you have to say about my writing because it is better then nothing at all. Dedicated to my friend and personal cheesy-feeder – . She is the one who CONSTANTLY encourages me to write; without her this story would not have even crossed my mind.**

Chapter 2: Electric Blue Leggings

_That smile_, _that voice!_

I thought about him to myself while looking out the window at the soft yellow rays of sun filtered in through the morning haze of Forks, Washington. Everything about this guy was driving me batshit insane! I was astounded, completely mind-fucked as to how he could have had this much of an impression on me after our small encounter on Saturday afternoon. I lay back down and waited for my alarm to go off. I had woken up before it went off, not that I really wanted to beat my alarm clock in the morning. I had an instinctive feeling that it was this _man, _Jasper, who had both my mind and body completely out of control.

_Crap, Alice! Rein yourself in once in a while. He is just another guy…who you can't stop thinking about and have only met for like 12.94 seconds. Crap._

As much as I wanted to just jump his bones, I had to think logically. Who was he? Why hadn't anyone mentioned him? I mean, nobody just shows up in silly little Forks. Surely I would have heard of his arrival before now. Everyone in town has always gossiped about the arrival of new people like it's vital to their well being. I felt so out of control not knowing what was happening. Somebody at school must have heard something! He looked about my age…maybe a year or so older. I decided that the second I got to school I would talk to Bells and Rose.

I decided not to wait for the alarm to go off and just got dressed straight away. Since it looked as though it would actually be sunny today, a rarity compared to the near-constant drizzle, I picked out clothes I rarely got to show off. A pair of electric blue leggings, matched with a white off-the-shoulder top that was long enough to cover the booty. To complete the look I slung a black embellished belt over my hips and threw on my new black suede knee-high boots with buckles on the sides. I smiled as I looked myself over in the mirror. The leggings really brought out my blue eyes.

_I wonder if Jasper will notice...shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

I went to the bathroom to do my hair and makeup for the day, and then wandered downstairs to see cat toys strewn every where. Oh sure, _now_ they're all over the place, like drunks at a bar, but I had to dive under the couch just to get _one_ on Saturday. I found myself sighing a dreamy sigh at the thought of Saturday.

"Alice, are you alright?" I heard my father call from the front hall, concern lacing his voice. Carlisle was such an observant father, it sometimes made me nervous. Though I loved him, but he cared so much that he noticed every little switch in mood and behaviour. It was disconcerting.

"Yes, I'm fine, how are you?" I replied cheerily while making my way over to him. If anyone could take my mind off of the confusing bag of hunk down the street, it was my dad.

"Great actually, I've been picking up a lot of extra shifts at the hospital lately though. It's been surprisingly busy. Bella was in again on Sunday…only four stitches this time," Carlisle finished with a smirk. He was such a lucky soul to have found his calling; he truly loved his career and was good at it too. That also explains why Bella never texted me back on the weekend.

"That's good then," I said, referring to his mood. "But what's happened to Bella now?" I had to laugh at the end. Don't get me wrong I loved Bella like a sister, but she was very accident-prone; she practically attracted danger like a magnet.

"An accident with a cheese grater. It wasn't pretty…I'm starting to think that girl needs constant supervision," he joked, but I could tell from his eyes that he truly cared. He was so compassionate, the kind of person you never wanted to let down.

"Yeah well I'm sure that even if she did have supervision, things would still go wrong. After all, it's Bella we're talking about," I replied.

"That's true," he admitted. He smiled and took a sip from his coffee. The mug said, "_Hope you don't have to come here often! - Forks General Hospital"_

"Nice cup by the way," I added.

"Oh thanks." He smiled sheepishly at me before leaning down to kiss my forehead and give me a one armed hug. "Have a good day, sweet pea!" He hurriedly said, and started fast-walking to the front door as he spoke. He was too nice to say he was running late because of me.

I didn't have to leave for school quite yet, so I made my favourite breakfast. Waffles with syrup AND whipped cream. I ate it down slowly, killing time so I wouldn't be the first one to arrive. Usually I had my mornings perfectly planned out but thanks to my little alarm clock mishap, I had time to spare. Alright, fine, it wasn't the alarm clock's fault. It was _his_ fault.

_Those eyes, that hair, that fucking voice! His accent makes me melt just thinking about it!_

I daydreamed about him while cleaning up my breakfast dishes. I really needed to stop getting carried away, I didn't even know him! It seemed like I had nothing left to do around the house, yet I still had time to waste.

I heard purring from the upstairs landing. Aha! My saviour! Something to occupy me; I really needed to stop thinking about a certain…guy…

"Bubbles!" I squealed out and ran upstairs to pet him. He was lying on the ground, "cleaning himself".

"Ugh, Bubbles! Is that really why you were purring? You're so gross!" I playfully chastised. He just looked at me like I was insane, as always. I seriously needed a more expressive cat.

"Well I guess you _are_ getting old," I cooed at him and pet behind his ears; that was his favourite. He let out a couple long meows at me when I stopped.

"But I have to get to school, Bubbles." I explained to him with a smile. He meowed in protest again as I made my way to the front door. I grabbed my book bag and purse then called out a goodbye to Bubbles as I made my way to my car.

Oh, my car. My beautiful yellow Porsche. It is my baby! Nobody touches, let alone drives it except me. Only a select few were even allowed to ride in it, which pretty much consisted of my best friends and my dad. It was bright and flashy and needed to be seen! I felt that it was my personality captured in a car. It was a big step up from the Volvo I had before; and I was proud of it, I worked hard for this car! I asked my dad to buy it for me, and he said he would match whatever I saved. As many can imagine the price I had had been saving since I turned twelve. Finally, on my seventeenth birthday, all of my friends chipped in to make one big donation and Carlisle paid the rest. The day I got it I drove straight out of Forks to Seattle to show it off!

I trailed my fingers along the hood before getting in and turning on the radio, and tuning it to my favourite station. I bobbed my head to the beat as I made my way to school. _Please let him be there!_ I was silently praying. I just felt as if I _needed_ to know him, there was something about him that made me just _want. _

The yellow lines of the road passed in a blur. My mind was elsewhere, not here driving my car to school but instead seeing strange things. Nothing was completely clear, sort of like I was seeing it out of the corner of my eye. It was so _weird_. I could see things that looked oddly blurry, that were just shadows and colors. And then I saw _him_, standing at the end of a long aisle…

_WOAH! WHAT THE SHIT!_

I snapped out of my odd trance as I nearly ran the only red light in town. My head was spinning like crazy, I felt so disorientated. All my muscles were tensed as I sat perfectly still in my seat._ What the hell just happened? _I thought as I pried my hands off the steering wheel and shook them out to relax them.I figured those images were just daydreams, but what I saw just felt so concrete. Like I knew it would happen, like I could see that it was going to happen…like I was… I didn't even let myself think the word. I was getting way ahead of myself over a silly day dream, though it wasn't like me to get so distracted while driving.

The light turned green and I sighed aloud and internally kicked myself. _Stupid Alice, _I thought. _Always getting carried away in my own mind over nothing_. As I sped toward school I did my best not to think of Jasper, but I still couldn't shake the creepy, intense feeling of what had just happened. It loomed over me in a threatening way that I seriously did not appreciate. It was getting in the way of my usually cheery self.

I pulled up to the school and parked next to Bella's truck. I always found it funny when I parked next to her because of the contrast between our two vehicles. My shiny new Porsche and her rusted red truck were complete opposites, as were Bella and I. I loved fashion, makeup and all things pink and fluffy while Bella well…didn't. She was more of a tomboy, an only-ever-get-dressed-up-if-you-have-to, I-would-rather-stab-you-with-that-stiletto-then-wear-it, kind of girl. Nonetheless, I loved her, and we were best friends. We had been since she moved here in grade nine, a year after me.

I grabbed my stuff, slung it over my shoulder and got out of the car. I scanned the school grounds looking for Bella or Rosalie.

A_nd maybe Jasper_.

Get a hold of yourself Alice!

"Alice!" Called a voice I knew very well from behind me.

I spun around to see Rose walking towards me from her car, a red convertible. Yet another personality in a car. She looked gorgeous today with her golden blonde hair in a French braid to one side and still looking like a supermodel in cute jeans and a halter top. An outfit clearly chosen for warmish weather like me.

"Hey Rose!" I said back. By now she was within non-yelling distance. She gracefully approached me and smiled. "How was your weekend?" I asked.

"Oh it was great! Me and Emmett went to the movies on Saturday to see that new horror one," she smiled. "We –" I cut in before she could go on.

"Rosalie Hale! Did you even watch any of the movie? You can't even remember the name of it!" I accused jokingly. "You probably don't even know what happened."

"Hey! I do so! People died. HA!" she laughed out at me.

"Shit Rose, I don't see why you don't just save your money and makeout at home! You guys never actually watch the movie. What's the point in going out? Besides, it's kind of gross!" I was about to ramble on into a complex lecture of why she should always listen to me, and that it would save her money and time if she did, when I was cut off.

"Cool it Alice, it's not your money she's spending," Bella interrupted. "I couldn't help but overhear" She added with a smile. Bella was always the peace keeper in our little threesome.

I turned to her and gave her a squeeze. "Your right, and good morning," I said.

"Thank you! Who got that on tape? Alice just said I was right!" Bella jokingly called out, although no one even turned their head in our direction.

"Looks like the students of Forks high are having a great Monday morning," Rose mumbled under her breath as we all started to walk to our regular morning picnic table. I took this time to fill the silence as our shoes squished in the ever-damp grass with my very important questions about a certain someone.

"So has anyone heard of this guy –" The bell happened to ring _just then. _Fuck. Opposite of saved by the bell. More like I want to kick the bell's sorry ass. Bella was a freak about being late and had already called out her goodbye as she walked towards her classroom, so she was out. I turned to look at Rose who was being beckoned by Emmett.

"I guess I'll see you at lunch?" she said with sorry eyes. She knew I wanted to say something as I was practically bursting out of my body to say it. Not that I could ever stay still anyways.

"Yeah, that's fine," I breathed out, "but we have got some serious talking to do then!" I added as she turned, nodded and waved with a smile. I watched her greet Emmett with a hug and a kiss, and then slowly made my way to first period.

I sat in my desk heavily. My plan for a morning attack was demolished! Now I had to sit through the first two periods of the day with no information when I was already stressing out like crazy! My leg was bouncing up and down ridiculously fast as I waited for class to start. With nothing else to do I opened my purse and checked my makeup.

"Huh..." I let out a small confused gasp that I didn't recognize as my own.

The person looking back at me from my small mirror that I kept in my purse was certainly not one that I knew. She looked so tired…overworked maybe? Clearly confused. She had faint purple shadows under her eyes, which were slightly blood shot. She had stress lines on her forehead too. She was me.

_What the hell?_ I thought. This wasn't how I looked in the bathroom this morning! And I was just as confused about Jasper then as I am now. What happened in the short time period from then to now that made me look so…defeated?My thoughts flickered back to that weird 'episode' I had in the car on the way to school. I quickly shoved that idea out the window. The possibility that that had anything to do with my appearance was just as likely as me buying a fake Louis Vuitton tote. And that would be impossible.

_I'm just messing with myself._

I repeated the mantra in my head as I put concealer under my eyes and worked on relaxing my face back into its normal cheery state. Class had started, so I put away my makeup and listened as intently as I could to the teacher, but my thoughts kept sneaking away. Those little bastards.

_That smile! That dreamy smile…I could bask in it all day. Those beautiful eyes…what I wouldn't give to get lost in them…_

Had I lost all self respect?! I caught myself in full out drool mode in the middle of the lesson. I let my eyes roam to see Mike Newton eye-fucking Jessica Stanley from across the room. Well at least I wasn't the only person in the room acting like a hormonal pig.

I looked away from Newton; he had started making vigorous gestures, the kind that sort of made me want to vomit.

I thought about happy things, like the end of the summer sidewalk sale coming up in Seattle. Rose and I will for sure be going, sans Bella. She would come with us if we begged her, but then we would have to drag around a not-so-happy Bella for a day. It was better to leave her with Edward.

Other happy things that came to mind: Candy, today's warm weather, Bubbles getting off this morning…

My laughter tinkled out at the last one, I couldn't help it! The whole class turned in one motion to look at me inquisitively. Including the teacher. I racked my brains for something to say.

_Shit, shit, shit!_

What have we been studying? What class was this? Why am I completely blanking? English! This is English right? I'm going with it.

"I just think Shakespeare is so funny! His writing style just cracks me up! And what is with the no female actress's thing? Isn't that just crazy!" I spat out all in one breath. I laughed a little nervously, seriously praying that we were talking about Shakespeare this lesson.

"That's all well and good, Miss Cullen, but hardly relevant to the topic. Would you like to share your feelings on literary devices? Or were you saving that for when we start Macbeth?" Said Mr. Sonas coldly.

"Uh, no thank you sir, I think I've contributed enough for this class," I nervously replied, staring down at the top of my desk and studying the fake wood pattern like it could cure cancer.

"That's what I thought," he said, and then continued his rant on the importance of pathetic fallacy. Whatever that was.

I kept my lips sealed and my thoughts serious until the end of class and wandered through the halls to second period. I hoped this period would go by quicker then the last. Preferably without any major drool fests or brain farts, as those seem to be the trend today. I just wanted lunch to come so I could quiz my friends. Someone had to know something, anything about this incredibly amazing guy! At this point I didn't even care if it was one of the guys that told me.

I barley paid attention in this class either. I did however check my makeup. I sat in the back of the room and could pretty much get away with anything. Eating, passing notes, doing my makeup, even building a bomb for God's sake.

Looking in the mirror felt better this time. I looked like I usually do, no purple bags or bloodshot eyes…it must have been some weird allergic reaction or something. Strange.

Since I was in so wrapped up in my thoughts about a certain gorgeous someone, the bell rang earlier then I had anticipated. I was rushing to pack up my books and meet with the gang for lunch. As much as I wanted to just sit there and drool over him, I couldn't! I had to stop letting myself get so absorbed by some guy I hardly knew. I was Alice Cullen! I would take control of this situation, like I always did!

I walked with determination towards the cafeteria, pushing my way through the halls.

_I may be small but I sure as hell am mighty! _My thoughts echoed my walk.

**A/N: So that's that! Next chapter is the big lunch discussion! Thanks again to who is my beloved beta!**

**Reviews are better then Carlisle's mug = ]**


	3. StareFests

**A/N: Woo! Like 123 hits! Except giant fail on the reviewing there kiddies! ( 1 review. Seriously guys? ) I want to give a shout out to UPSTrucks15Lol for being my first review on chapter 2 and even going to check out my other story! You're awesome!**

Chapter 3: Stare-fests

I bounded into the cafeteria, my face set with determination.

I took three steps in, looked at our table and did an automatic U-turn right back out the doors, no doubt looking like a complete idiot.

He was there.

At our table.

What. The. Fuck.

I was already half way down the English hall in my hurry to get out of the cafeteria. I had no idea where I was going, I just didn't want to go into there and act like I hadn't thought about him constantly, because that would be impossible! What if I slipped up and said something stupid like, _Hi nice to see you again Jasper. Just so you know I've been fantasizing about you since we met._ I was known amongst our group of friends for having serious cases of word-vomit when I get nervous.

And I was nervous.

But _why?_

I couldn't help but ask myself. I hadn't thought about this happening. I mean, he wasn't here this morning so I had deduced that he wouldn't be here now! I was at my locker now, putting my books inside it as slowly as possible. I leaned my forehead against my locker door and practiced breathing slowly. The cool metal felt nice on my feverish skin; I contemplated moving but decided against it. I could just stay here for the remainder of lunch, right?

"Alice!"

Apparently not.

I turned my head to see Bella walking up with a concerned and confused expression. I didn't say anything.

"Hey" She said as she approached. "You were in and out of there so fast I wasn't sure if it was you. What's up?" I was briefly surprised to see that Edward wasn't with her. They were usually attached at the hip. I let it go.

I decided to tell the truth. Why lie to Bella when I was going to talk to her about him this morning anyways? It just seemed stupid now. Oh well.

"Do you remember this morning when I started to ask you and Rose a question about a guy, but the bell rang and you took off and so did Rose?" I asked quickly, embarrassed. I almost felt like I was going to start sweating, and that was not okay.

"No not really…" Bella replied quietly with a blush. She was always blushing, even about the most random things, such as right now.

"It's okay. Anyways the point is that guy sitting at the lunch table was who I was asking about. He moved in down the street from me, and we had this random chance meeting and now I can't stop thinking about him! It's ridiculous!" I was babbling at light-speed.

Bella stood quietly, getting her thoughts together with a pondering look settling on her features. I waited impatiently, tapping my foot incessantly on the ground.

"So you met him, and now you can't stop thinking about him," She concluded. I nodded and my earrings jingled. She continued, "But I don't get why you ran away from him. I mean, wouldn't this be a good opportunity to talk to him?" She finished.

"But Bella you know how I get when I'm nervous! I could say something stupid or – or _something_!" I said while my hands flew up in the air and dropped back down to my sides again. I couldn't think of anything else to say really. Suddenly my argument felt weak and childish. I hated that feeling more then I hated last season's pumps.

Bella just raised an eyebrow at me. She did that a lot when she knew she was right, just to annoy me. It used to bother me so much because I couldn't do it. I searched my brain for something else to say; something to make me sound less pathetic.

"And I'm scared Bella. I seriously have been thinking about nothing but this guy all weekend but I know nothing about him. I don't who he is or where he comes from. He just…_invaded_ me!" That seemed like the right word choice to me, but Bella stifled a laugh anyways. I scowled at her before continuing. "He showed up and all my logic went out the window. Plus he is incredibly attractive!" I added that last bit on just for kicks.

"Well if you come back to the cafeteria with me, I know a couple people who can answer those questions for you," she said with a smile. I wondered why she had said 'a couple people'. Couldn't only Jasper answer my questions? Oh god, did she expect me to _talk_ to him? No, no, no…

Bella was so caring, it was very like her to want to fix everything and keep me happy. She would make a great mother one day. I shot her a nervous glance at the mention of actually going _in _the cafeteria again today.

"Alice! I've known you a long time and I know you can do this! Just be you; you take control of everything! No guy can bring my best friend down." She stated.

"I know Bells, this just feels…important, you know? Like its set in stone or something…" I didn't want to start throwing around words like 'fate' or 'destiny' because that was way too weird. My thoughts flickered back to this morning's car ride and I outwardly scowled.

Bella took the scowl the wrong way and frowned at me. I didn't feel like explaining that odd experience this morning so I just changed my expression and shot her a smile that probably looked more like a grimace than anything.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better," she started quietly. "I kind of know how you feel." She sounded very sympathetic.

"How? How could you possibly feel how I feel right now?" My voice was hard. I can admit I was taking this out on her a little. She looked hurt, but was trying to cover it up so I wouldn't notice. "I'm sorry, that was rude." I added.

She took a long breath in and began. "I know how you feel because that sounds just how I felt when I met Edward. Don't you remember? I was an obsessed wreck. I never shut up about him! The second I met him it was like I _knew _we were supposed to be together. I didn't know about his past or where he came from or even what his favourite cereal was!" She paused and giggled. "Sure, it took a little while to get there for me, to admit to him that I liked him and maybe that I was an obsessed teenage girl, but look where we are now. I love him and he loves me. Plain and simple. You can't let fear get in the way of having something like that whether it's with Jasper, or any guy." She finished her pep talk with a pointed look at me.

What could I say? No? Maybe it wasn't the exact same situation but some big details matched up. Bella was right: if I didn't get to know him, I would always be scared, and I wasn't having any of that! Part of me knew that I couldn't be afraid of him. It was like my subconscious mind was set on having him in my life and I had no control over it, even if I wanted to. And he was too fine _not _to get to know. Mmm…

"You're right. I'm acting like a stupid idiot. Thanks Bella." I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"Wow. That was easier then I thought it would be! Usually it's pointless to even _consider_ debating with you." Bella laughed out.

"Well I know you're right this time, what can I say?" I replied sounding a little more defeated then I would have liked

"I'm a genius, I know. It's rare when all that wisdom comes out, but I choose to share it with you," she joked, sporting a smirk. She lifted her hand out to me with a look that said it all. She was going back to the cafeteria, and so was I. I let out a gusty, over exaggerated sigh and slipped my palm into hers.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what the crap happened on the weekend? How did you meet him in the first place?" Bella asked.

"_What the crap_? Seriously? Bells, just curse once in a while. It feels good. Shit, fuck, bitch. Sometimes you just need to!" I told her while we walked through the hall towards my impending doom. Bella never swore, if she did, it was a very extreme situation.

"No, and Miss Cullen I believe that was you avoiding the question!" She poked at my side and I squealed, jumping away.

"Fine! Okay, okay…" I continued on to tell her about the whole Saturday ordeal, including the luck that I happened to be wearing the butt jeans.

"So really Bubbles is at fault here," she stated as we approached the doors to the cafeteria. I looked at her and she smiled a very big uncommon Bella smile, so I pushed open the doors and casually strolled over to the table where we usually sat. At it sat Rose and Emmett, Edward and _him. _

It was then that it struck me. They would probably ask _why_ I ran out in the first place. Fuck. And then I realized that I was also standing there making a complete fool of myself, staring off into space.

"Hey guys!" I said cheerily before sliding out the chair beside Bella. It also happened to be across from Jasper. The table stayed silent, we could here everything going on around the cafeteria. The constant chatter of the students created a buzz while individual noises stood out. Emmett was burping, forks were scraping, a cell phone was beeping. Finally someone spoke.

"Sorry about that, guys. Alice had my biology textbook in her locker and she wanted to give it to me, but she forgot so she ran back to get it," Bella explained quickly. Edward gave her a questioning stare. He probably knew that her bio textbook was in her bag like always. I saw her elbow him under the table, his response was to smile widely.

"Well you have it now, so time for introductions! Emmett?" Edward said coolly.

Emmett cleared his throat to start speaking as I glanced at Bella and mouthed 'thank you'. I turned back as he started.

"Alice, this is my cousin Jasper. Jasper, this is Alice. Badda bing badda boom!" He laughed a loud booming laugh over the noise of everything else.

His cousin, eh? So Emmett could answer my questions, not just Jasper. Hmmm. This information just raised more questions. I decide to try and play it cool, despite the fact that I felt like I was going to vomit.

"Actually guys, we have already met." I paused when all the faces looked confused except for Jasper and Bella. "Courtesy of my cat, on Saturday." I said matter-o-fact-ish. So far this was going good.

"How could I forget?" He said smiling at me. My heart went wild in my chest, hammering against my ribs. My memory had deceived me, his smile was so much better in person. I smiled back, making sure I made eye-contact with those gorgeous orbs of his.

"So, you and Emmett are cousins then?" I asked, trying to act seemingly uninterested but probably failing epically. Even I could hear the slight longing in my voice.

"Yeah my pop and his mom are siblings," It was hard to actually listen to his words when all I was hearing was that accent. I was trying not to just zone out because I actually wanted to hear this. This was the information I had been craving all weekend! "We just moved here on Friday night." He finished.

"Why did you move?" I asked. I was probably prying but I really wanted to know. Besides, he didn't look like he was upset that I was asking or anything.

"My mom felt like she needed a 'change of scenery'. It was really sudden and Aunt Trudy suggested we come to Forks. I wasn't too excited about moving down here because it's always been so rainy when we visit," he paused, looking directly at me. "But right now it doesn't seem too bad." He smirked at me across the table.

"Well the weather is nice today isn't it?" I played back at him with a coy smile, and then started to rummage through my bag for the apple I knew was in there. It was hard to look away from his angel face.

_Yup. Crazy obsessed teenage girl much._

"Actually I was talking about yo-" What he said was sending waves of butterflies through my stomach, but Emmett cut him off. I shot him a glare, but he didn't notice.

"Alice, he used to live in South Carolina! Isn't that cool? Can you hear his accent?" Emmett asked between mouthfuls. I wasn't sure how Emmett could eat so much, but he kept going.

_Could I ever, it's so fucking sexy! _I thought.

"I can Emmett, good job!" I leaned across the table to give him a high five, and he slapped his bear hand with my very small one. This was going surprisingly well! I glanced over at Rosalie while sliding back into my chair and she pointed back and forth between me and Jasper then winked with a thumbs-up. I giggled, and Rose started laughing too.

"Jasper, you should hang out with us sometime, if you're not too embarrassed to be seen with this in public." Rose said, pointing to her own boyfriend.

"Aw, babe!" Emmett said in a mock-hurt tone. Rose playfully resisted as he pulled her into his muscled arms. She gave in and kissed him softly on the lips before leaning away, leaving Emmett satisfied and stuffing his face once again.

"Well he is family!" Jasper laughed out. His laugh. Oh my Jesus on a jack hammer. Could I kiss him? Please? I stopped myself by biting my apple before the words literally came out of my mouth. "But I wouldn't mind hanging out with you folks at all." He stated to everyone, but his eyes never left mine. I was blushing! That's embarrassing! I looked down at the table, and when I peeked up at him through my lashes his smile grew wider.

I held his gaze there. I couldn't think of anything to say, but I didn't feel like I needed to. Edward and Bella were talking about a bio project, and Rose and Emmett were debating on what we could all do together, but I could barley hear them. It was like it was just us in the room, even though it was crowed and loud.

It was weird.

It was intense.

It was interrupted by the bell.

I jumped about four feet back, and Jasper blinked and shook his messy hair out. We all stood up and said our goodbyes to Bella and Edward as they headed off to bio hand in hand. Rose and I walked in front of the guys down the hall on our way to our classes. I may or may not have been swinging my hips.

"Ali! You two would make such a cute couple!" She whispered in my ear.

"He is so cute! And nice! And I really want to jump his bones!" I whispered back.

She giggled, and then asked, "What happened on Saturday?"

I gave her a significantly shortened version of events and she smiled.

"Go bubbles! Man, it's like kitty-induced fate!"

"I know right! I thought the same thing after. He is a very perceptive cat, thank God!"

"Seriously though, you two were having a little moment when the bell rang! What was that about?" We were still talking quietly, but it was hard to hide our enthusiasm.

"I don't know! It was like one minute we were talking and the next we were having and intense stare-fest!" I blushed again as I told her. _What the fuck, was I Bella now?_ I thought quickly.

"Woo girl, you are in trouble. I can see it in your eyes, and I can feel it in my Gucci gladiator sandals." I laughed at her as we approached my class. "I'm serious! My spidey-senses are tingling!" We giggled and she hugged me goodbye. Emmett bumped fists with Jasper, and waved at me as he went to walk Rose to her classroom door. It was me and the hunk left.

He was staring at me.

I was staring at him.

If we didn't stop having these stare-fests, our eyeballs would dry up and fall out. I decided to be the responsible one and save our eyeballs by saying something to him.

"So what class do you have next?" I asked quietly. I prayed he was in my class.

"English," he replied.

"Oh. Well, this is me," I gestured to the door on my right, very let down. More let down then I should be at this point. He just nodded, and I took that as my cue to stop fantasizing and leave.

I turned on my heel to go inside when he grabbed my hand.

Oh. My. God. Cue the squeal. I pursed my lips from doing that anywhere outside my now-scrambled mind.

Heat flew up my arm like a flare and my breath hitched. He spun me around so I was facing him and slowly backed me up so I was leaning against the lockers behind me.

Thoughts were running through my head at a million miles a minute. Most consisted of KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME.

I gulped audibly, and he chuckled. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles softly. It was like a raging case of pins and needles where his lips touched me.

"It was very nice to see you again, Alice." He said huskily.

"Mhmm!" Was all I could squeak out. He walked away silently. My head fell back against the locker and I let out a huge sigh. Holy shit. Those words would haunt my dreams, and I do not mean nightmares.

I had it bad. Terrible actually seemed like a better word choice. I dragged myself through the door and to my seat in a daze. I couldn't help but wonder when I would feel those pins and needles on my lips, and I was hoping it would not be long.

**A/N: Reviews are better then elbowing Edward**


	4. Just Brush

**A/N: Maybe we could get a couple more reviews before I post again? Lets say 5 more, so 17 in total. I would really appreciate it! **

Chapter 4: Just Brush

Jasper fell into our routine with amazing grace. He could somehow seamlessly be what everyone wanted him to be. Jasper was someone Emmett could be not-so-serious with, yet he was serious enough to be able to talk with Edward. He made Bella laugh and he always complimented Rosalie. He seemed so utterly perfect that I couldn't put into words how he changed me. It was like every little step I took was to get closer to him, to get him to realize that I was screaming for him silently. Not one of us had noticed our group of friends was lacking anything until he filled the non-existent void we had. At least it had seemed that way to me. Maybe because no one paid more attention to him than me. The last week had gone scrumptiously smooth like cashmere.

Everyday we all met at lunch, talking and joking around. We all talked a lot about where he came from and details of his old life that he missed. He always just said that there were things that Forks had that South Carolina didn't have. I learned a lot about him over the week and I was very great full that I had, because if I didn't I'm sure I would have gone mad. I learned that his mother was an interior designer, who owned her own company called _Innovative Creations_, and that his father was a carpenter whom she had divorced when Jasper was still a young boy. He had no siblings, but he did have a Rottweiler named Spike whose birthday happened to be on Monday. His favourite color was blue, and his favourite meal was steak and potatoes. Very Southern. He mentioned that he attended military school for the first 2 years of high school, and me imagining him in those uniforms did nothing for my ability to keep the conversation going. Bella saved me once with a swift kick under the table when he asked me what I wanted to do.

"_The uniform is kinda warm, but that wouldn't be a problem here." He is answering a question Rosalie had asked about the uniform of his old military academy. I wasn't in the cafeteria though. I was in my head drooling about him in a soldier's uniform. Just imagining those broad shoulders and toned arms fill out a perfectly tailored jacket! That honey blonde shag slightly peeking out of his hat framing his soft features like a sexy fucking siren call just waiting for me to take it off and-_

"_Alice?" OUCH! Simultaneously Jasper was ducking his head to look at my face while Bella kicked my leg under the table. Hard._

"_Sorry! I was day dreaming again! Silly me…" I trailed off, embarrassed._

"_Oh, it's alright," he began with a smile, and my heart started to race. "I was asking what you wanted to be." The inflection in his voice was so adorable! He sounded almost nervous though that couldn't be so. Shit, I had to answer._

"_I'm thinking mostly fashion design," I replied sheepishly. Even I new it was a long shot that I would ever be successful. _

"_That's so cool!" He answered enthusiastically, capturing me with his eyes. They looked earnest, like they actually cared what I was saying. Not just staring at my breasts, or just generally not paying attention. I wouldn't mind if he maybe did stare at my breasts, though. Just a little._

There had been many other occurrences like that throughout the week, thankfully I was usually kicked, pinched or severely glared at until my brain jump started itself into coherency again. Something about him just made me so absolutely crazy. It was very unfair that I didn't have the same effect on him, even though Bella says she can _'practically see the adoration pouring out of him!'_ If that was true, he hid it much better than me.

My favourite part of the day had now changed from the end of the day, to just after lunch and it wasn't because I was full of yum-tastic food. Jasper had taken to walking me to class, and I looked extremely foreword to this little snippet of time that we had together, uninterrupted. Each day was a little different, monumental in its own small way. Something he did or said always making my heart explode out of my chest. Monday he left me against the lockers in a daze, wanting more.

Tuesday after making our way to my class room door, I paused for a short moment. Would he do it again? Kiss my hand? I sure as hell wanted him to! I whispered a short goodbye and when I looked up at his tall frame he brought his hand up and brushed my hair behind my ear softly. As if I was a piece of China, extremely fragile. I had unknowingly leaned into his touch as his hand lingered on my neck.

"Have a wonderful day Miss Cullen." He said quietly, and walked away while I inhaled a shaky breath and he whistled a cheery tune down the hallway.

Wednesday he leaned in to whisper goodbye in my ear, and having his body so close had me grasping my purse so hard that my knuckles hurt. _Just keep your hands to yourself. _I repeated in my head like a mantra, even though all I wanted to do was weave my hands through his hair kiss his perfectly symmetrical and very inviting lips.

Thursday had been by far the most confusing as he had been staring at me with a determined look on his face as if he wanted to say something, but before he could say it his eyes became soft and boyish.

"I'll see you later." It wasn't meant to be a question but I had made it sound like one.

"Tomorrow, I presume." He said huskily, but his voice was laced with something else. That same determination I could see in his eyes. His voice was deep, and rough like gravel and _southern._

"'Kay." My fingers flicked out to touch him, luckily he didn't see. He smiled a heart stopping grin and then retreated down he corridor, once again leaving me breathless.

Today had been slightly different. There was no casual small talk, we had just stayed silent. Not that it was awkward; we just both didn't feel the need to talk. I stopped hesitantly - what kind of lust would he leave me with today? I had to wonder as we had reached our destination. I decided to try and take control of the situation; he should have a taste of his own medicine.

"You know, it's really sweet of you to walk me to class everyday, I appreciate it." I said while throwing my best flirtatious cute-but-I-want-you smile.

"No need to thank me, my mama raised me proper." He said casually, shrugging it off with a shake of his messy blonde hair and staring at me with those beautiful eyes.

"That she did," I replied while putting my plan into action. "But thanks anyways." I cooed seductively into his ear with both of my hands on his shoulders for balance. He was at least a foot taller than me. While extracting myself from his personal bubble I let my lips drag across his slightly rough cheek, playing it off as an accident. _That should teach him,_ I thought, while I turned around and walked into my classroom leaving him speechless in the hall with the most adorably confused look on his face.

As I sat in my seat I couldn't help but feel smug. I had certainly done to him what he does to me with every look and smile he ever does. Plus it had been more enjoyable for me then I ever could have imagined. My heart was still fluttering, and my palms were clammy. Just that one simple action had my thoughts going haywire.

"Miss. Cullen?" The teacher had called on me. Shit, not again. I just smiled sheepishly to convey that I didn't know the answer. "That's what I thought. Please try to pay attention." He said in a very monotone voice. I nodded and tried my best to focus on what was going on in class. The way things were going, my grades were going to drop considerably.

***

The drive home was…wet. As it was everyday, but today I had Bella in the car, so it was nice to have her to talk to while the windshield wipers flicked back and forth noiselessly. She was coming over for the evening, and would most likely end up sleeping over, that happened a lot.

"I'm so happy its Friday." She said while playing absently with the sleeves of her plain black sweater.

"Me too." I replied half-heartedly. Don't get me wrong, I was happy it was the weekend but that also meant I wouldn't be able to see Jasper until Monday.

"I know you want to see him Alice," she started in an all-knowing voice, "why don't you just make the first move! It's the 21st century; you don't have to wait around for him." She finished jokingly.

"Belllaaaaaaa," I whined, "I want him to make the first move! I want this to be…proper." I concluded, sounding uncertain.

"I know, _I know_." I could tell she was getting annoyed with me. She had been receiving play-by-plays of every interaction I had with him over the last week. "I just don't see why you make yourself fret over when and if he will ask you out when you can just ask him out yourself. It's not like he is going to say _no._ There is no way he would turn you down!" She ended with a huff and pushed her hair out of her face. It was still damp from the walk out to the car.

"Thanks, but for _some_ reason, I am not as confident as you are." This was very true. Usually I was the one who dressed different or laughed loud and obnoxiously, but since he got here it seemed like I was a chicken-shit. Until that stunt I pulled after lunch! "Did I tell you what happened after lunch?" I added with enthusiasm.

"No, but you're going too." Bella replied with a smile. I launched into my detailed re-enactment of my plan, and Bella giggled at me when I tried to imitate his southern drawl. Even I had to admit that I butchered it.

"Shut up!" I jokingly complained as we got out of the car and headed up my driveway. "I wasn't trying to make it sound good or anything!" We were both giggling like crazy as we fell into the front door dripping wet. It surprised us both when Carlisle came out of his study to see what the noise was about.

"Daddy, you're home?" I asked through laughs.

"Yes, I took off early today. Snuck out just before they could stop me. Hello Bella." He said warmly.

"Hello Carlisle." She replied smiling.

"Hold on Bells, I'm going to run and grab us some dry clothes." I said while sprinting up the stairs to my room. I grabbed myself a cozy track suit, and Bella some of my pyjama pants and a sweater, she was taller then me so I couldn't give her the matching track suit that I wanted too. I changed and went to the bathroom to wring out my hair. It may have been short but it sure was absorbent. When I came downstairs Bella and Carlisle had migrated to the kitchen.

"How's that hand?" Carlisle asked Bella softly while reaching out to inspect the stitches.

"Oh it's fine. No big deal." She shrugged it off. "The stitches have almost dissolved." He placed her hand down on the table as I slid into a chair beside her and handing her the clothes wordlessly.

"Thanks Al." She smiled, grabbed the clothes and excused herself to change.

"That girl could break her leg, and still think it would be no big deal." Carlisle stated as he pushed himself up from the table quietly.

"Yes, it's very frustrating." I added with a grimace.

"Well, I'll be upstairs. Don't have too much fun girls." He called out as he made his way back up to his study, and Bella appeared in the kitchen.

"My hair looks like it's alive. It has its own entity!" Bella huffed, clearly not pleased with how her hair and the weather got along.

"I can fix it!" I couldn't keep the excitement from my voice; it was at least 2 octaves higher than usual. She looked at me warily. "C'mon Bellaaaaa, I need some cheering up!" I put on my best pout so that she would give in. I loved playing with her hair, especially since I had none.

"Alice, I don't feel like being a Barbie today." She retorted, placing a hand on her hip. She hadn't said yes, but I knew I was winning. There was no conviction in her voice.

"Please, please, pleasseeeee!" I continued, getting up from the table and twirling around her extravagantly. "I'll love you forever!" I shot her a grin while spinning on my toes.

"If you stop dancing like that, you can brush it. Do you hear me? _Just_ brush!" She said sternly to me. _Yes! I win!_ I cheered silently as I grabbed her hand and towed her up to my room.

"Have a seat." I said while pushing her onto the stool that sat in front of my vanity. I was jumpy with excitement as I placed my hands on her shoulders deciding what to do. Bella had a bored expression on her face as she toyed with the many bottles in front of her.

"Just brush Alice." She repeated, as she glanced up and caught me deliberating in the mirror. I mumbled a non-committal sound and started working. First things first, detangle. I picked up the leave-in spray conditioner and started squirting the masses of brown locks.

"Jesus Bella, I bet your hair is half of your body weight!" I said under my breath, and she shot me a glare. "Just putting it out there," I said mock defensively and she huffed.

"I'm betting all these hair products you have here are worth more then your car." She said with a smug smile. I thought about that for a moment while I ran my fingers through her hair.

"You may be right." I concluded, and then snapped my fingers twice. "I need a brush stat!" She picked up the one nearest to her and held it over her shoulder for me. I took it and started at the bottom of her hair slowly working my way up methodically. It was quiet except for the sound of the brush stroke and the rain pelting against the roof outside. Bella's eyelids fluttered once or twice because she was so relaxed. _I wish I could be as relaxed as her._ I was internally grumbling. I was so wound up about Jasper that I had been losing sleep and thinking all the time. My brain was definitely feeling the wear-and-tear of his presence; I couldn't get it to shut the fuck up!

Minutes ticked by as I worked on Bella's hair. Now starting at the top of her head I was able to pull the brush all the way to the bottom without meeting a single knot. I kept pulling the brush through it anyways because I couldn't decide what to do next. My thoughts were occupied with a certain someone. _He is such a nice guy,_ I thought while I stealthily turned on my neon pink flat iron. _I bet he would be an amazing kisser…_I sighed out loud. _Get it together Alice!_

I grabbed a clip and parted Bella's hair so that the top half was clipped on top of her head and the bottom was easily accessible. I glanced up from my work to see Bella giving me a weird look, I ignored it and picked up the now hot flat iron.

"Oh no, no, no missy!" She scolded, sitting up straighter than before.

"Oh come on Bella! What's the big deal?!" I whined to her reflection.

"The deal is I said no!" She explained, using a voice you would use on a child. I very deliberately picked up a piece of hair and brought the iron towards it. Cue the "Jaws" music. She set her lips into a hard line and started swatting her hands over her shoulders at me.

"Let me, let me, let me!" I repeated the phrase so fast it all jumbled together and sounded like one word. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me through the mirror. "Thank you," I said calmly with an angelic smile, "remember I am the one with the burning hot metal in my hands, and I will forcibly use it against you." My voice was friendly, but I couldn't mask the threat.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She mumbled and scowled at me.

"Don't do that, you'll get wrinkles," I informed her as I continued on the bottom half of her hair. Each piece fell flat and shiny against her back. The mahogany a strikingly different color than the pale yellow sweater I had given her.

"Well, I act middle-aged so I may as well start to look like it," she grumbled as I continued working on. "You know you have thirty two bottles here right? I counted," she said to me, astonished. I decided to tease her.

"That means I'm missing five!" I giggled out with a fake gasp of horror, and she couldn't help but laugh too.

We fell silent again as I continued to work on her hair quietly, my thoughts moving to fast for me to voice them. Eventually my masterpiece was almost completely done, a long dark brown shiny sheet of hair where a wavy frizz-ball once was. She studied it in the mirror, no emotion on her face. I stood behind her still tweaking pieces as she ran her fingers through it easily.

"Well it _does_ look nice." She quietly admitted, as the corners of her mouth rose up slightly, trying to reach her ever rosy cheeks.

"See! You always like it in the end." I squealed a little with a smug expression on my face, and sat on the bed as she spun around on the stool to face me.

"You were very quiet today…" She looked at me pointedly, probably expecting an explanation.

"Yeah I guess." I shrugged it off and fell back onto my bed so I was staring at the white ceiling. I felt the weight of Bella joining me as the mattress bowed. I turned my head towards her and she had herself propped up on one elbow, her body perpendicular to mine. Her hair fanned out around her arms and she tugged at random pieces.

"You have it bad." She stated in a friendly tone. I nodded, still looking at the ceiling. "I usually can't get you to shut up!" She said in an even lighter tone, trying to cheer me up.

"I don't think I talk that much." I replied rolling my eyes at her. She just raised her eyebrow at me. "Okay, okay. I may have a problem controlling my mouth sometimes." I admitted sheepishly.

She was chewing her bottom lip, and had a very un-characteristically devilish look in her eyes. She kept shooting me nervous glances out of the corner of her eye, and I finally had to ask what she was thinking.

"What is going through your head?" I asked exasperatedly, rolling onto my stomach.

"Nothing, I was just thinking…" She trailed off, and I waited for her to keep going quite impatiently. "Well it is Friday night, we could like…" She trailed off again, twisting the string of my hoodie.

"Spit it out Bells, I wont bite." I promised her.

"Call him?" She sputtered out and I inhaled sharply. "Well not just him, like everyone! Edward, Jasper, Rose and Emmett. We could all like hang out…" She suggested while looking at the bed spread intently.

My stomach felt queasy. That would mean that he would be here, in my house. Outside of school. Very close to my bedroom…_Okay don't get carried away Alice._

"I don't know Bella…" I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to call him or not. If he came would it feel forced? Would he enjoy himself? Would he even say yes? Would I be able to not jump him like a hormonal cat? The questions were making it even harder to make a solid decision. "Maybe next weekend or something, I don't know if he even likes me or anything!" I was starting to sound hysterical, my breathing picking up noisily. _Pathetic_.

"I know you would do the same thing for me." She got up, and walked out of the room with something in her hand, but I couldn't tell what. I clued in when I heard the bathroom door close, then lock.

"Isabella Swan! You come out here this instant! You better not be doing what I think your doing!" I shouted while sprinting into the hallway and colliding with the locked bathroom door. I twisted the handle, but it did nothing. She must be getting back at me for straightening her hair! That little…

"You'll thank me one day!" She called through the wood of the door calmly. I leaned my ear up against the cool door and listened nervously, praying she wouldn't do it.

And then I heard the soft clicks of the buttons on her cell phone being pressed.

_Shit._


	5. QuasiCupid

**APOV**

"Isabella Swan I swear to fucking God if you do not open this door, and hang up the phone right now I will grab all of the pretty brown hair on your head and rip it out!" I whisper-shouted through the wood of the door, trying to convey my anger to the sneaky bitch while also trying not to disturb dad.

"Hi Rosie! It's Bella." I heard muffled through the wood. I pressed my face even harder into the door so I could hear.

"So you know the whole _situation_ we have going on here and I think it's time we give it a boost...uh huh...uh huh...well I was thinking everyone here in like an hour or so...no no she'll be fine...okay call me back to confirm...see yah."

What?

"BELLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Yeah, dad might suspect something is going on. The lock clicked open and she stuck her head out of the door, only to be met by my best laser gaze of death.

"Alice do you mind just checking with your dad if it's okay to have the gang over? I kind of forgot that step..." Bella asked sweetly with an innocent smile. Her right eye was twitching. She was feeling the laser gaze, I was sure of it.

"Uh, not until you fill me the fuck in! What was that? Since when are you a quasi-cupid?" I spat out quickly.

"First of all, stop swearing, second, calm down. You know you want this to happen so just chill out and ask your dad." She stated calmly, and headed back to my room with the cell phone still clutched safely in her hand. I burnt holes in the back of her head with my stare while I shuffled over to my dad's office. I quietly knocked and poked my head in the door way,

"Dad, can the gang come over tonight?" I asked with no emotion in my voice. _Take that Bella, I don't have to be excited about this!_ He looked up from a file he was browsing through and gazed at me for a moment.

"Sure...is everything alright?" He asked with suspicion and a raise of his right eyebrow. I let out a nervous giggle, and at that his face broke into a smile.

"Yeah dad, I'll...survive." I laughed out.

"Alright then sweet pea, have fun. Don't be up all night please!" He called through his closing office door while I sprinted to my room to see if Rose had called back with the details yet. She was scarily quick at planning and organising group events.

When I walked in, Bella was saying goodbye to Rose and clicking shut the phone. I looked at her expectantly while grabbing the seat in front of my vanity.

"What did your dad say?" She asked quickly, not divulging the only information that I wanted, but instead asking more questions. What's with the questions? Why can't I have some answers?

"You can't have any answers until we have permission silly." She replied.

What? Did I say that out loud? Not the word vomit. Always with the word vomit!

"Did I say that out loud?" I asked.

"Word vomit, it was projectile." She stated warily.

"Dammit. Anyways, my dad says that you can have your friends over." I said, over exaggerating the fact that they were her friends to have over.

"Uh, they are your friends too, and perfect! Rose texted Em, who called Jasper, who was already with Edward for their chemistry project, so Edward texted Em, so that he could tell Rose that they will all be here at eight to watch movies. Isn't that great?" Bella recited quickly with a million dollar smile plastered on her face.

Eight. Jasper will be here, at eight!

_JASPER WHITLOCK WILL BE HERE AT EIGHT!_

"What time is it?" I asked Bella quickly while I ran to my closet to figure out something better to wear then the track suit I currently had on.

"It's... just after seven. You have time, don't worry!" Bella called out exasperatedly and flopped back onto the bed.

"Don't you tell me about time missy! Choosing and outfit for the first out of school hangout is _crucial,_ I could very well spend all night on this! Oh dear...okay..." I fell silent as I leafed through my walk in closet by colour. _Blue, pink, yellow, brown, green, violet...hmmm violet, I like that idea._ I pulled out a long, loose, violet cardigan with big black buttons, and a pair of light wash skinny jeans. I threw them out of the closet onto the bed and pulled open a drawer to grab a tank top.

"AHA!" I exclaimed as I pulled out the perfect black tank with silver beading around the straps and neckline. I threw that one at Bella too as I emerged from the closet in a huff.

"How is that, is that okay? Look at that please!" I squeaked out before I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. "OH GOD! LOOK AT MY HAIR!" It was all stringy and hanging around my face in clumps from the annoying as hell rain storm outside.

"It's fine! Alice calm down you're going a million miles a minute!" Bella calmly said to me. How could she be calm in a time like this?

"What's fine? The outfit or the hair?" I turned to her quickly, needing confirmation as soon as possible.

"Both, the outfit is great. You know you can dress in a paper bag and still look hot. I have no idea why you think it takes so long for you to pick out an outfit when you can do it in like 20 seconds. Also I see no problem with your hair. You are insane." Bella answered hastily, before I spun to the mirror again.

"Yeah well that outfit is only the first one, be prepared! I'm sorry, but I have to jump in the shower and fix the mop on my head...read this!" I picked up a magazine from my nightstand and threw it at her so that I could jump in the shower.

"Alright..." I heard Bellas slightly annoyed voice as I stalked through the hall and into the bathroom.

I was in and out of the shower faster than I thought possible, but I knew that I didn't have much time left before they got here, I could just... feel it. Like extremely accurately...they would be here in 34 minutes and 14 seconds.

"What the hell..." I said under my breath as I watched little water droplets fall off of my body onto the hall carpet and walked back to my room.

"Huh?" Bella mumbled and looked up from the magazine I had given her earlier.

"Nothing. What time is it?" I asked, and grabbed my previously picked outfit of choice while stepping into my closet to change so Bellas 'virgin eyes' wouldn't have to see my naked flesh.

"It is 7:26! You have 34 minutes left complete the challenge!" Bella yelled to me in an obnoxious announcer's voice.

_Holy fucking crap. Thirty four minutes left, just like I thought...that was really creepy. Lucky guess...I guess._

"Kay."I replied distractedly, slipping on my skinnies. I should have time as long as this outfit looks good and I don't have to change it 55 times.

"You look extraordinary."Bella stated and swung her legs off the side of my bed so that she was sitting diagonally behind me in my vanity mirror, where I was currently seated.

"Thanks...I actually like the look of this, which is amazing on a first try. My sense of style is just as epic under pressure as it is on a regular basis. That is comforting." I pointed out to Bella and grabbed the hair dryer. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Anything I can do to help?" She asked quietly with a smile. I pondered this for a moment. What was there for her to do?

"You can go down to the kitchen and start getting out like, chips, drinks, popcorn you know, the usual." I decided. That left more time for me to get ready, and kept Bella busy for the time being.

"Alright!" She chirped out and skipped towards the kitchen to prepare the snacks.

_Ding._

I stood in front of the door, staring at it blankly. _This is it Alice, first hangout outside of school._ I reached out towards the door handle, reading myself for the faces of my friends, and more importantly the face I loved to fucking stare at. _Ding._

_Impatient little shits._

I pulled open the door with a huge smile, and then I realized that I could look possibly crazy so I toned it down a bit.

"Hey!" I greeted the lot of them.

Rose came in first, towing in Emmett behind her, then Edward stumbled in, while Emmett started to shake his wet hair at me. Usually I would smack Emmett for being childish but I was preoccupied, waiting for my last guest to clear the doorway.

"Hi" I spoke quickly, just as he stepped in.

"Hello Alice. Nice place y'got here." He smiled at me as he took in his surroundings. The others had already moved into the living room, and I could hear that they were being oddly quiet. _Listening in. Bitches. _

"Oh, thanks! I didn't really have time to tidy with such short notice, so just ignore the mess.." I replied, turning on my heel and leading our way into the living room with the others. It was also easier not to drool over him when I wasn't completely facing him, which was something I had learned over the week.

"Hey come on now, you don't ever need to tidy up for a guy like me." He chuckled out. I shot him a flirtatious smile over my shoulder. He was just so cute!

"Well, I'll have to remember that for the next time we get together," I said as I led him into living room with the others, "you can take a seat in here." my voice faltered while motioning to the couch when I realised how my friends were assembled. Rosalie and Emmett were already sprawled out on the larger couch and Bella sat in the lazyboy chair with Edward between her legs on the floor, which meant Jasper and I were forced to sit together in the loveseat. _Well not forced on my part. _

Jasper took his place on the loveseat, and I went to the shelf full of DVD's under the T.V.

"What Kind of movie do you guys want to watch?" I asked while fingering through a couple of the well watched chick flicks Rose, Bella and I loved. I picked up _Hairspray _and let a giggle slip out. I could never imagine Jasper liking a movie like this.

"Action!" called Emmett. _No surprise there_.

"Comedy?" Bella suggested and the general chorus of the room sounded agreeable, so I picked a few good ones that we could choose from.

"Alright guys the choices are...The Hangover, I Love You Man..." I got cut off right there by Edward.

"Yeah, I Love You Man! I haven't seen that one yet!" Edward explained and nobody argued, I looked over and saw that Jasper was telling Edward how he had wanted to see this one too. This was good, he would be having fun then, this hangout would be worth it! I popped the disk in and nervously took my seat beside Jasper.

"You can help yourself to any snacks or drinks you want," I said to him quietly while the opening credits started. "I would tell this to the others, but they already do it on their own.." I trailed off. I had a sneaking suspicion that Jasper was too much of a gentlemen to ever take something without being offered first. With that said I turned to the screen. I didn't want to talk anymore because honestly, sitting this close, all I wanted to do was _smell_ him.

"Why thank you Alice, you're very kind." He replied, low into my ear. His breath was hot on my neck. I held in my swooning gasp and just smiled at him instead.

"You're _very_ welcome" I breathed out. _Was that corny? I feel like it was corny. Dammit_.

I tried to snuggle into the couch further, but only found myself getting closer to Jasper as the movie went on. Was this darn thing getting smaller by the minute? It's already a loveseat! I wanted to get comfortable, but I was sitting stiffly, muscles clenched. I was nervous, what if he didn't want to be sitting this close? He noticed me scooting around and just laughed, then put his arm around me.

I think my heart exploded.

I think my heart melted.

I think it's hard for a heart to do both of those things at the same time but _holy hell _was mine ever. As I snuggled into his side and the whole room laughed at the movie, I couldn't help but feel like I belonged there.


End file.
